Authorities to declare no-fly zone over Fritzl incest trial

Air space above the court where accused incest father Josef Fritzl will start trial on March 16 will be closed to all flights except emergency services for the duration of the trial, Austrian aviation authorities say.

AFP - The air space above the courthouse where accused incest father Josef Fritzl is to be tried next week will be off limits for the duration of the trial, the Austrian aviation authorities said Thursday.

Austro Control said it was imposing a temporary flight ban for all aircraft except emergency services above the prison in Sankt Poelten, Lower Austria, where the 73-year-old Fritzl is being held, and the nearby courthouse, where he will be tried.

The ban will be effective from 8:00 am (0700 GMT) until 5:00 pm (1600 GMT) on every day of the trial, which is scheduled to run from March 16-20.

Between those times, no aircraft will be allowed within 0.5 nautical miles of the courthouse or less than 6,000 metres (1,800 feet) over it, Austro Control said.

Fritzl is to face charges of sequestration, rape, incest, grievous assault, slavery, and murder, and if found guilty could remain behind bars for the rest of his life.

He is accused of keeping his daughter as a sex slave in a dungeon beneath the family home for 24 years and fathering seven children by her, three of whom spent their entire lives in the cellar, never seeing daylight until their dramatic release a year ago.

The case, one of the worst in Austria's criminal history, has attracted media attention from all over the world with hundreds of TV crews already in Sankt Poelten to cover the trial.

But proceedings will be held behind closed doors, with the public and media only allowed into the courtroom for the reading of the charges and sentencing at the end of the week.